Feed hopper



H. LENZ FEED HOPPER Jan. 6, 1925. 1,521,819

Filed April 1'7, 1922 Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

HENRY LENZ, OF MASPETH, NEW YORK, ASVSIG-NOR TO SCHRADERS SON, INCOR-PORATED, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, CORPORATION OF NEW*YORK;.

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Application ld April 17, l1922. Serial No. 554,283.

To all whom t may conce/m.'

Be itknown that I, HENRY LENZ. a citizen of Vthe United. Stat-es ofAmerica, re.- siding in Maspeth, Long Island, county of Queens, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFeed Hoppers, of which the following is a specifica-tion.

The. present invention relates to an automatic feed mechanism and aimsto provide certain improvements therein. More particularly, itrelates toa. feed hopper adapted to automatically position and continuously feedelements having an enlarged part and a reduced part forming a shouldertherewitlfl to` a track, preparatory to having some mechanical or otheroperation perform ed thereon.

In devices `of this character heretofore proposed, considerabledifficulty has been eX- perienced when it was endeavored to feed hollow`or partly hollow elements, particularly so when the enlarged partcontained the hollow portion. This was due to the fact that the. reducedparts have a tendency to seat or engage in the enlarged hollow parts andjam the feed at the outlet opening.

According to the present invention, I overcome this tendency byproviding a suitable baffle or kick-off element which insures a propercontinuous feeding of the elements to the outlet opening. I also preferto. make the outlet opening sufficiently large, so as to discharge theelements therethrough if for any reason the track connecting with thehopper groove becomes clogged or blocked.

According to the present invention, I provide a stationary Vhopperformed with a curved or spiral groove in its base which is preferablyflat, and a rotatable propeller arm movable thereon to urge the elementstoward the outlet opening after they become seated in the groove. Meanskare also provided for insuring' a limited continuous feeding ofelements to the hopper from a suitable receptacle connected therewith,sol that the feeding mechanism can be operated for a considera-bleperiod without attention. As hereinbefore stated, suitable means areprovided for preventing the jamming or blocking of the feed. Theinvention also includes-other features of improvement which will behereinafter more fully s et forth.

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated ``one embodiment of myinvention pan ticularly adapted for feeding valve'pcap parts toafsuitable track,.` 'Y i Figure l is a` diametrical section of the feedmechanism taken ,on 'the line V1?-1 of Fig. 2, looking in' thedirectionY ofthe varrows.

Fig. 2 is a section taken onthe line` 2-2 of Fig. l, looking in thedirection ofthe arrows, the cover plate being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation o-f thedev-ice, the outlet track beingomitted,

Fig. 4 is a. detail section oftheba-iile ele? ment or kickfof device,and taken substantially on the line of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partlyl in section, of one of the elementsadapted to beA fed by the feed hopper.

Fg. 6 is a similar view of twosuclrele.-

mentsin superimposed position.4 l Referring to Fig. 1,"wherein thefe,edmechanism is shown in assembled relation, let A indicate the feed hopperproper, which has associated with it the elementsupply receptacle B, thecover plate C, the propel'.- ling means D andthe outlet. track E. Thefeed hopper. A and the supply receptacle Bare preferably stationarilymounted. upon a` suitable support, while the cover plate C and thepropelling means D are mounted to rotate within thel hopper byfbeingfiXedly mounted upon a rotatable shaft F extendingcentrally through thefeed mechanism.

The hopper A, which may bemade of any suitable material, ispreferaiblymade in the form of a flat hollow cylinderhaving a solid base G providedwith one or more curved spiral grooves I-I formed therein. These groovespreferably extend through the base of the hopper, and, in order tomaintain the integral construction of said base with the side walls,suitable ribs I are retained in the base during the process of formingthe grooves Il. These ribs are of a thickness not to interfere with theelements moving in the grooves. Anv inclined wall J connects the to-pface of the base with the side wall of the hopper. The function of saidinclined wall will present ly be made apparent. This wall J merges witha baffle or kick-ofl1 element K `located. somewhat in advance of `anoutlet opening L, connecting with the spiral groove H in the hopper, thefunction of which will become clear as the description of the inventionprogresses.

For the purpose of moving the elements which seat in the spiral groovein the baseof the hopper toward the outlet end of said groove, anysuitable means may be provided. As herein shown, this means consists ofthe propeller D, which is mounted on the shaft F and adapted to moveover the upper face of the base of the hopper. This propeller ispreferably formed with a` plurality of spaced arms M arranged in theform of a cross, but it will be understood that any otherarrangement'may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention. Inorder to reduce the frictional engagement between the propeller arms andthe elements in the hopper to a minimum, and to do away with all sharpedges which would have a tendency to indent and abrade the elementsbeing fed, the propeller arms have their edges and ends bevelled orrounded.

The cover plate C, which is fixedly mounted on the shaft F and rotatablewithin the hopper A, is preferably positioned within said hopper asuitable distance below the top edge thereof, whereby to provide anelement holding receptacle. This cover plate is preferably formed with afiat top face which constitutes the bottom of said element holdingreceptacle, and is provided with an opening N through which the elementsare adapted to drop onto the. base of the hopper. The size of thisopening N and the speed of rotationvof said cover plate may be soregulated that the number of elements permitted to pass through saidopening maly7 be approximately the same as those fed out of said hopperonto the track E. It is preferable, however, that the number of elementspassing through said opening into the hopper be slightly greater thanthe rate of feed to the track E, the excess of elements being adapted tobe discharged through the opening L, which is made considerably largerthan the size of the element, and thus permits of elements beingdischarged therethrough over one side of the track when said trackbecomes clogged or blocked for any reason.

While it is desirable that the cover plate C always carry a sufficientsupply of elements, it is obvious that too great a supply, owing to itsweight, would preventthe proper feeding of elements through the openingN. Hence, in order to overcome this tendency, the element supply hopperB is provided. This hopper, which may be of any desired shape, is hereinshown as cylindrical in form and as adapted to seat on the outer edge ofthe hopper A in a suitable groove C provided for this purpose. Thishopper B is formed with an inclined bottom P, the lowermost edge ofwhich has an opening Q, through which the Lezama elements may graduallydrop onto the cover plate as the quantity of elements thereon decreases.The bottom of the receptacle B and the cover plate C may thus beconsidered as partitions in the feed mechanism, the openings in saidpartitions serving to regulate the supply of elements to the hopper. f

An inspection of Figs. l, 2 and 4 will disclose that the baffle orkick-off element K is positioned slightly in advance of the outletopening at the terminal of the spiral groove, and that its upper edgeoverhangs said groove. The purpose of this construction is to preventthe feeding of elements to the track which are superimposed. This willbe readily appreciated when one considers that the present device isdesigned for feeding hollow or partly .hollow elements having anenlarged part and a reduced part having a shoulder therebetween,particularly so when the enlarged part contains the hollow portion. Whenit is endeavored to feed such parts there is a tendency for the elementsto seat one on top of the other when being fed in the groove, and it isthe badiie or kick-off element K which throws off the upper orsuperposed element so that a proper feed at the outlet is provided. Aconsideration of Fig. l discloses that. the underside of the cover plateC is provided at its outer edge with a bevelled surface R complementaryto the bevelled surfaces J in the hopper. These two bevelled surfacesalso function as a kick-off for separating the moving elements withinthe hopper when they become superposed.

In the operation of the device, the feed hopper A, carrying the elementsupply receptacle B, is stationarily mounted upon a suitable support bymeans of the ears A. The cover plate C and the propeller D are caused torevolve within said hopper by any suitable means, such as a pulley orgear (not shown) connected with the shaft F. The shaft F beingrotatable, a suitable bushing S may be mounted within the hub of thehopper to reduce the friction of said shaft with respect thereto. Theelements which it is desired to automatically position and continuouslyfeed to the outlet track, preparatory to having some mechanicaloperation performed thereon, are placed in the receptacle B. As hereinshown, these elements consist of valve caps of the well known Schradertype, the object of feeding them to a suitable track being to positionthem preparatory to cutting the screwdriver projection in the smallerend thereof. Now, as the cover plate C rotates, the cap elements willfall thereon through the opening Q. When a sufficient quantity of theseelements have accumulated on the plate, certain of them will nd theirway through the opening N to the hopper. In the hopper they will beagitated more or less by the revolving spaced arms M, and Willeventuallyv become positioned Within the spira-l groove H, thescrew-driver projection being the part of the cap Which seats in thegroove. Thecaps which thus become seated are carried; along by the armsM until they reach the end of the groove which leads to the outlet trackE. If, perchance, any of these caps moving in the groove have aseoondcap superimposed thereon, said second cap will be kicked off when thecap in the groove passes Linder the kick-off element K. This kicking offaction is gradual, owing to the gradually curved cam surface 7s on thekick-off element K, against which the superimposed element will ridebefore being finally removed from its superposed position. Likewise, ifthe quantity of caps Within the hopper becomes large and certain of saidcaps become interlocked or superposed, these caps Will be separatedvvhen they find their Way along the outer inclined edge of the grooveWhere the cooperating bevelled surfaces J and R Will function askick-offs to separate the caps so positioned. If for any reason thetrack E becomes clogged or blocked With caps, the additional caps movingtoward the outlet opening in the groove and to the track are dischargedthrough the enlarged opening L over one side of the track. A suitablechute may be positioned under this opening to receive the dischargedcaps and direct them to a receiving receptacle.

From the foregoing description and operation it will be appreciated thatI have provided an efficient automatic feed mechanism for elements ofthe character described, said mechanism being simple in construction,continuous in operation, and requiring very little inspection on thepart of an operator, who can very readily take care of a battery of adozen or more such feed mechanisms.

I/Vhile I have shown and described the feed mechanism as being primarilyadapted to feed valve caps, it Will be understood that the presentdevice is capable, With slight modification, of feeding any elementshaving an enlarged portion and a shank or reduced portion. It will alsobe understood that I do not Wish to be limited to a mechanism having aspiral groove, as for some purposes a different shaped groove may proveeiiicient. Accordingly, I do not Wish to be limited to the preciseembodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, as variousmodifications may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

l. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a spiral feedgroove greater than 360o in length.

2. A feed mechanism comprising a hopper having a spiral groove thereingreater than 360 in length and means for moving elements in said groovetoward the end thereof of greatest radius.

3. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a feed groovetherein and means regulating the supply of parts thereto Vcomprising aplate having a hole therein through which the fed parts may enter thehopper.

4l. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a feed groovetherein and means regulating the supply of parts thereto, said meanscomprising a partition plate Hin said hopper and said plate having anopening permitting a limi-ted number of elements to enter the groovecontaining section of the hopper.

5. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary .hopper having a feed groovetherein and means regulating the supply'of parts thereto, said meanscomprising a rotatable partition plate in said hopper and said platehaving an opening permitting a limited number of elements to enter thegroove containing section of the hopper.

6. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a feed groovetherein and means regulating the supply of parts thereto, said meanscomprising a plurality of partitions dividing the hopper into a seriesof superposed compartments, and each partition having an openingpermitting the parts to successively pass from the upper to the lowercompartment.

7. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a feed groovetherein and means regulating the supply of parts thereto, said meanscomprising a plurality of partitions dividing the hopper into a seriesof superposed compartments, each partition having an opening permittingthe parts to successively pass from the upper to the lower compartment,said openings being normally out of alignment and at least one of saidpartitions being movable relatively to the other one.

8. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary hopper having a feedrgroovetherein and means regulating the supply of parts thereto, said meanscomprising a plurality of partitions dividing the hopper into a seriesof superposed compartments, and each partition having an openingpermitting the parts to successively pass from the upper to the lowercompartment, and at least one of said partitions being movable about anaxis passing through the hopper.

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9. A feed mechanism comprising a hopper let'track connecting with saidgroove, and means for preventing a jamming of the fed elements Withinthe hopper at the outlet, said means comprising a baille or kick-oifelement Within the hopper in advance of the outlet.

11. A feed mechanism comprising a hopper having a groove therein and anout-- let track connecting with said groove, and means for preventing ajamming of the fed elements Within the hopper at the outlet, said meanscomprising a. hafie or kick-off element Within the hopper in advance ofthe outlet, and an enlarged clearance opening surrounding the outlet.

i2. ln combination, a feed mechanism for elements having an enlargedpart and a 1'educed part comprising a hopper' having means therein inwhich the reduced part of said elements are adapted to seat, an outletin said hopper, a track connecting With said outlet, means forpreventing a jamming of said elements Within the hopper, and meansurging said Velements onto said track.

13. A feed mechanism comprising a. suhstantially cylindrical hopperhaving a conical surface connecting its interior side and hase, and adisk-like cover plate for said hopper having a complementary conicalsurface in proximity tothat on the hopper.

14. A feed mechanism comprising a stationary substantially cylindricalhopper having a conical surface connecting its interior side and base,and a rotatable disklike cover plate for said hopper having acomplementary conical surface in proximity to that on the hopper.

n Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. Y

HENRY LENZ.

